The Marauders: First Year
by thelonglostmarauder
Summary: Follow the Marauders and all of their mischief through their first year at Hogwarts! It takes a while to get into it so be please be patient!
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER!

I do not own these characters, I just like to write about them.

Chapter 1

James' POV

"James! Hurry up! You'll miss the train!" Mum called from downstairs while I was struggling to get my very heavy trunk down the stairs.

"I'm coming!" I reached the bottom of the stairs and mum and dad are waiting for me at the door.

"There's no time to get there the muggle way, we'll have to apparate. James, hold onto my arm." I grabbed her arm like she said and we disapparated. It only lasted for a second but I still felt disoriented after we got there.

"Well, you better get on the train." Dad said.

"We'll miss you sweetie." Mom pulled me into a hug, "Promise you'll write."

"Of course. Goodbye."

"Promise you won't get into too much trouble." Dad says with a smile.

"When do I ever?" I reply with a mischievous grin, "I'll see you at Christmas!" I get onto the train and I see my parents waving through the window and I wave back. I was so jittery with nerves and excitement. I was finally going to Hogwarts!

I began to look for a compartment, but I found none. There was one compartment though that had only one boy sitting in it. He was definitely a first year. He looked kind of lonely so I figured I would sit with him. I opened the door, "Hello, would you mind if I sat here with you?"

"Not at all!" The boy said excitedly.

"Thanks, I'm James."

"I'm Peter."

"Nice to meet you." I smiled and sat down, "So, what house do you think you'll be in?" I asked trying to start a conversation, "I'm hoping for Gryffindor!"

"Oh, I don't know, I don't think I'd fit into any of them."

"Well, I hope you get Gryffindor, then we can be in the same dorm!"

Just then, a boy burst into the compartment. His hair was dark and almost fell to his shoulders. He was very out of breath. "I need to hide. No time to explain." I had no idea who this was but I was going to help him, he looked a little scared.

"I have an invisibility cloak." I said. I got up and went to my trunk and pulled it out.

"Where did you get an invisibility cloak?" Peter said astonished.

"It was my dad's." I answered simply. The boy put on the cloak and stood towards the back of the compartment.

He was just in time, because a girl with really messy black hair came into the room. "Have you seen a first year come by here? Longish black hair, kind of thin." She asked very rudely.

"No, sorry." I replied and she left. The boy waited a few moments and then took the cloak off.

"Thanks."

"Anytime, why were you hiding from her?"

"It's a long story."

"Well, I'm James Potter."

"I'm Peter Pettigrew."

"Sirius Black," Black, my parents told me about them. They thought anyone who wasn't a pureblood was worthless and that purebloods were better than everyone else, "but believe me, I'm nothing like my family. Their views disgust me. I am praying that I don't get sorted into Slytherin, but I probably will."

"Don't say that, you can be in Gryffindor with me." I say confidently.

"If I get sorted into Gryffindor, I will probably be dead by tomorrow morning."

"Why? Gryffindor isn't bad."

"I know that you know about the Black's and their pureblood mania." I did know, but like he said, he was different from them.

"You know, we could use your invisibility cloak for pranks and stuff." Sirius said changing the subject.

"Yeah, I've come up with a few ideas for pranks."

Then another person came in. He was short and had brown hair with a few scars on his face. "Umm, would you mind if I sat here with you?" He asked shyly.

"Sure! I'm James, that's Peter, and that's Sirius." I said pointing to them when I said their name.

"I'm Remus." He replied.

"Are we all first years?" Sirius asked.

"I am." Remus said.

"I think all of us are." I said

"Wouldn't it be cool if we were all in the same house together?"

"Yeah, but what are the odds all of us will be in the same house?" Remus asks.

Sirius seems disappointed at this, "Well, we can still hope."

3rd Person POV

For the rest of the train ride, they sat and laughed and anxiously waited arriving at Hogwarts.

Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James had no idea the adventures they would have that year and the many years to come.

Hi! This is my fist fanfic on here, please tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sirius' POV

My parents were going to kill me. I was talking to three people who were not purebloods, or they were considered a blood traitor. Of course I didn't care, but my parents would. They seemed like really nice people and I wanted to be friends with them. I wouldn't let my parents tell me who I could and couldn't be friends with. "We should change into our robes." I suggest. Everyone nods in agreement.

I had finished changing and then I looked out the window. That's when I saw the castle for the first time. It was amazing. I was speechless at the sight of the castle. Everyone else was too. "Are you as excited as me?!" I asked.

"Of course! My parents have told me a lot about Hogwarts!" James said.

"I'm very excited." Peter says.

"I'm finally away from home!" I say very giddily.

"Won't you miss it?" Peter asks.

I was still smiling when I said, "Not at all, I hate it there."

The train stopped and we climbed out. A man who was twice the size of a normal sized person was yelling "Firs' years this way! Firs' years follow me!" We walked over to a lake and there were a lot of boats sitting by the shore. "No more tha' two 'n a boat."

I turn to James, "Wanna go together?"

"Sure." He replies. We start to move and we all are staring amazed at the castle. It wasn't long until we would be inside.

"Are you alright?" James asks. I didn't even realize I was nervously tapping my fingers on the seat of the boat.

"Just nervous for the sorting."

"Everything will work out."

"Thanks." He was probably right. I will get sorted into Slytherin and everything will be as it should be.

We get to the end of the lake and James could not stop jumping up and down from excitement. "Aren't you excited!"

"Of course I am!" We find Remus and Peter and walk in together. The inside of the castle was just as amazing as the outside. There were so many staircases and I swear I saw one of them move! There were hundreds of paintings of people and all of them moved and talked! They kept saying 'Welcome to Hogwarts.' I said thanks to a few of them. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

We were led down a few corridors and arrived right outside two big doors. A woman who looked just about fifty stepped outside. "Welcome to Hogwarts. Soon you will walk inside these doors and take a seat but first you must be sorted into your house. Your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points, any rule-breaking will lose points. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Now, if you will please follow me inside."

She opened the doors and into what looked like a dining hall but much much bigger. There were four long tables and one long table in the back for the teachers. One thing that really caught my attention were the candles. There were hundreds of candles floating above everyone's heads.

"Now when I call your name, please come up and sit and I will place the hat on your head." The hat looked like it had been used for centuries. "Aubrey, Bertram." Oh no. It was alphabetical order. I could hear the hat mumbling to itself. After a minute or two it called out, "Ravenclaw!" The boy looked pleased and sat down at a table.

"Black, Sirius." I walked up and sat down; my heart beating out of my chest. As soon as the hat was on my head it started talking. "Ah, another Black, my first instinct tells me to put you in Slytherin. Hmm… but that's not what you want is it?"

"I don't know what I want." I whispered.

"No, you don't want to be like your family. And you shouldn't be, you are different from them. You value courage and friendship… I know were you belong… Gryffindor!" He called out. How was that possible? Anything but Gryffindor would've been fine. My parents will not be happy. The professor took the hat off my head and I walked over to the Gryffindor table.

I was a little happy I guess; at least I wasn't with my family. I heard "Davies, Emmeline." It took almost no time for the hat to shout, "Hufflepuff!"

The names went on and on until I heard "Lupin, Remus." He was the last kid to come into our car on the train. The hat was thinking for a decent amount of time until it finally said, "Gryffindor!" I was so happy, he seemed really nice. He sat down next to me."

"Hello again." I say.

"Hello."

I try to joke around with him a bit, "Looks like you're stuck with me."

He giggles, "I guess."

The sorting was going very slowly and I was getting very hungry. After what felt like forever, another familiar name was called, "Pettigrew, Peter." The hat took longer on him than any other student so far. After about five minutes it called out, "Gryffindor!" Peter looked pleased and sat down with me and Remus. "Potter, James." Was called out once Peter sat down. It didn't take long for the hat to call out Gryffindor as well. James had the biggest smile on his face as he sat down on the other side of me.

"Hello fellow Gryffindors."

"Nice to see you again." I say to him.

"See? I told you you would be with me in Gryffindor."

"You did." I admit. The sorting finishes up and the person in the middle of the table stands up and says, "Let the feast, begin." He waves his had and all of the plates get filled with food. I was so hungry, I dived right in. All of the food was so good! It was so much better than the food Kreacher made.

"Looks like we're all in the same house after all."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Remus' POV

Dinner was over and we were being led up to the Gryffindor Tower by a Prefect. I never thought that I'd be in Gryffindor, I always thought that I was going to be in Ravenclaw. I always liked reading and learning. Maybe the hat thought I was brave because of what I have to go through each month.

We go up to the boy's dorm and there are five beds with trunks next to each of them. I found mine and start to unpack. There are four other people in the dorm. It's me, James, Sirius, Peter and another kid named Frank Longbottom. Frank seemed to be very quiet. He just unpacked, changed in the bathroom and went right to bed, even though it was still pretty early. The rest of us stayed up talking. I wasn't really talking, just listening to everyone. Once James and Sirius started talking about Quidditch, me and Peter went to bed.

I woke up around 6:00 and got ready. I changed into my robes and put on my Gryffindor tie for the first time. Today was the first day of classes. I was excited to see what we would be learning about.

It was 6:30 now and everyone was still asleep. I walked over to James' bed and shook his shoulder, "Hey, James, wake up." He groaned and rolled over. "James, we have classes soon and breakfast is soon."

He wasn't waking up, so I went over and tried to wake Sirius up. "Sirius! Peter! You have to wake up!" Sirius sat up and so did Peter. James did not move. All of us kept trying to wake him up but we failed. Sirius and Peter started getting ready. "James! We're leaving for breakfast!" Sirius said as we were leaving at 6:50.

James immediately jumped up and ran into the bathroom. He came out two minutes later, fixing his tie as he was walking. "Let's go!" He said.

"We better not be doing this every morning." I say.

"Do what?" James asks.

"Wake you up every morning. You have to do that on your own."

"We've been trying to get you up for half an hour." Peter added.

"And now I'm up so let's go get food!" The other three sighed and walked out the door. No one was in the common room; everyone already left for breakfast.

We found a place where all four of us could sit. I started to take some food onto my plate when the professor who did the sorting came around, handing out papers to everyone. She handed me mine and I realized it was our schedules. Today I had History of Magic, Transfiguration, and Herbology. I've always liked history, I think I'll like History of Magic.

I have never been so wrong. The professor was a ghost. Not even kidding. His name is Professor Binns. It was only the first day and I was bored out of my mind. All he did was talk. Just talk. The whole time. He talked about what we would be learning about this year and how he would run a class. Tonight, we have to read the first chapter in our textbooks. I don't mind reading though, I actually like it. I've even brought some muggle books with me.

We have a short break before our next class, which was Transfiguration. The teacher for Transfiguration was the woman who did the sorting yesterday, Professor McGonagall.

When we first walked into the room, she wasn't there, but there was a cat on her desk. Everyone started talking, waiting for her to come in but then the cat jumped off the desk and transformed into her. The room fell silent and everyone looked at her with their mouths open. She explained that she was an animagus, someone who could turn into an animal. I probably can't learn how to do that.

It was another boring 45 minutes. The first day of classes is always boring. Hopefully it will get more interesting in the next couple of days. I was really excited to start learning and practicing spells.

After Transfiguration we had lunch. "History of Magic is so boring!" Peter complained.

"Relax Peter, it's only the first day. I'm sure it will get more interesting."

"But what if he lectures us everyday?"

I shrugged, "He may, he may not."

"Let's just be happy that's its lunch now." Sirius says.

When lunch was over we had 30 minutes until Herbology so we went back to the common room.

"So I had a few ideas." James began, "We need to come up with our first prank, and our name."

"Name for what?" Peter asked.

"For our group! We need something to call ourselves. We should also write something that will make sure nothing bad happens if we ever get into an argument or something like that."

"Sounds like a good idea. We can write that tonight." Sirius said.

"Do you think you want to prank people for as long as we're here?" I asked.

"Of course!" James and Sirius said.

"Then… how about we call ourselves the Marauders?"

"Oooh, what does it mean?" James asked with curiosity.

"It's someone who marauds, a raider." I reply.

"Who cares what it means? It sounds cool!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Alright, we have our name… now we just need to come up with our first prank." James smirked like he already had a million ideas.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Peter's POV

I am so happy! I finally had a group of friends! I never got along with the kids in my neighborhood, but they waned me to be friends with them! I couldn't believe it! And they wanted me to help with pranks. I probably wouldn't be much good at that though, I never had good ideas. Maybe that will change though.

After Remus thought of our group name we went to Herbology. We wanted to leave early in case we got lost.

"So…" Sirius starts but then stops.

"So, what?" I ask.

"I don't know but it's too quiet for me right now, and I'm not good at starting conversation."

"Well…" James started to think of something to say, "How do you like Hogwarts so far?"

"It's amazing." Sirius responded immediately.

"I know! I do miss my parents a bit though." I said.

"Why don't you write to them? I'm sure they would be thrilled to hear that you got into Gryffindor." James suggested.

"Yeah, I probably will after classes."

We got to Herbology early, but there were Hufflepuff students there as well.

"Welcome to your first Herbology lesson! I am Professor Sprout. Today, we're just going to go over different types of plants that you will be seeing throughout this year."

By the end of the class I didn't remember anything she said. I know Remus raised his hand a few time but that's it. The plants looked really cool though. At any rate this class looked a lot more interesting than the last two. "Do we have anything else today?" I asked.

"No, I think that's it." Remus replied.

"Good." We had about two hours until dinner so we went back to the common room.

"Alright, let's write…" James paused to think, "The Marauder's Code."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

This is a shorter chapter than the previous ones, I promise the next one will be longer.


	5. Chapter 5

James POV

I got out a new piece of parchment and we sat down at a table. "Ok… we should start with some rules." I suggested. Everyone nodded in reply.

No Marauder will ever turn their back on another Marauder for any reason

There are no secrets between the Marauders

Nobody is allowed to lie to each other

If someone has an idea for a prank, they must tell the other three

If someone pranks a Marauder, all of the Marauders must get them back

If a Marauder pranks a fellow Marauder, the one being pranked can get back at the person that pranked them

If one Marauder is caught during a prank, all must face the punishment

An injury to one is an injury to all

"I think that's okay for now, we can always add to it later." Sirius said.

"Yeah, I'm sure we'll think of other things to add. We have something more important to worry about." I said. No one knew what I was talking about. "We have to plan our first prank!" I exclaimed.

"Yes! How about we prank the Slytherins!" Sirius said really excitedly.

"Yes! Now we know who the prank is targeted at but what can we do?" I said, "Does anyone have any ideas?"

"Umm, I have an idea but it's not very good." Remus said shyly.

"Well, we don't have anything right now so just tell us." I said.

"I was thinking we could have something like a trigger plate and when they would step on it something would fall on them but I don't know what."

"I like that!" Peter said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, that shouldn't be too hard." Sirius added.

"We could put up a bucket of whatever is going to fall on them by using magic. But what's going to fall on them?" I asked.

"Oh." Sirius said and then grinned mischievously, "I have an idea for that."

Everything was in place and I was jittery with excitement to pull my first prank at Hogwarts. Remus made us the potion that we needed but we had to steal some of the things that he needed. Remus also found a levitation spell that would hold the buckets in place. Me, Sirius and Peter went to put the buckets in place outside the Slytherin common room. Once someone steps under a bucket, it will be dumped onto them.

We were sitting at breakfast waiting for something that would tell us that our prank had worked. And we got it. Three slyhterins walked in with bright pink hair. There should be seven others with pink hair since we set up ten. They were fuming. But they don't have to worry, it'll wear off by tomorrow. "Guys, it worked!" I said in a hushed voice. We didn't want to get caught. It was only the second day after all.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sirius's POV

Our first prank worked and nobody has an idea who did it. Which is good, I didn't want a detention… yet. But the happy moment didn't last for long. Mail came and our family owl dropped off a red letter. It was a howler. "I forgot something in the dormitory, I'll meet you guys in Potions."

I took the letter and left. I didn't want anyone to hear what it said. I sat down on my bed and opened the letter with shaking hands. "SIRIUS BLACK!" My mother's voice boomed from the letter and echoed from the walls. "HOW DARE YOU BE SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR. WE TOLD YOU HAD TO BE IN SLYTHERIN; TO UPHOLD THE FAMILY NAME. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT YOU'RE ALSO RUNNING AROUND WITH BLOOD TRAITORS AND HALF BLOODS. YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THIS FAMILY. WE WILL DEAL WITH YOU THIS SUMMER." The letter tore itself up.

I just sat there; too stunned to say anything. I couldn't stop myself, I started to cry. I knew that this letter was coming and that they were going to give me hell this summer. I just wish that I could have one week without worrying about my family.

"Sirius?" Someone said as they opened the door. I wiped my eyes as I saw James come through the door. "I heard the letter." He said shyly.

"Yeah," I said, "I'm screwed."

"Is there anything I can do?" He asked.

"I don't think so."

"We could stop talking to each other."

"What? No! You're my friend!"

"But part of that was saying that I was a blood traitor, and I don't want you to get in trouble because of me." I could hear that he was telling the truth. He really didn't want me to get hurt because of him.

"Well, I don't care what my parents say. I choose my friends not them." James was one of my first real friends and I can't lose him.

"If that's what you want. I have a feeling we're going to be friends for a very long time."

I genuinely smiled, "Me too."

"Come on, we better get going or we'll be late for potions."

"I can't wait to see if there will be any Slytherins with pink hair in our class today." We grab our bags and leave the dormitory. Turning what was supposed to be a sad moment into a happy one.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Remus's POV

It's been two weeks since school started. Homework wasn't too hard and we were starting to get into the swing of things. Everything was going really well. I had not expected to make such great friends so quickly and easily. But tonight was the full moon. I have been feeling so tired the entire day. All I wanted to do was go and lie down until tonight but I had to get through classes.

"Are you alright Remus?" Peter asked after their first class.

"I'm fine." They didn't ask any other questions. I was grateful for that. They would probably ask more questions as time goes on.

I quietly slipped away after dinner to go to the hospital wing. There was a woman there who looked fairly young and seemed nice. I recognized her from the feast.

"Um hello, I'm Remus Lupin." Dumbledore said that all of the teachers were told about me being a werewolf, and especially with her being the nurse she would know.

"Oh hello! I'm Madam Pomfrey. I can imagine you're tired right now so why don't you rest up a bit and then I'll show you where you will go during the full moon." I nod and go to lie down.

"Mr. Lupin, I'm afraid you'll have to wake up now." I get up to follow where she was taking me. We walked outside and it was a little cold for September. She directed me over to a very big tree. "Now, this tree is meant to keep everyone else away as I'm sure you figured out. You have to go through that tunnel, and to do that, you have to tap the knot right there." She picked up a long branch and tapped the knot and the tree stopped moving.

I walked in and went into what looked like a really old house. It looked like a place from a horror movie.

I took off my clothes so they wouldn't be destroyed when I transformed. It shouldn't be long now. I just have to wait.

I woke up in a bed in the hospital wing. I was hurting all over. I could see a lot of scratches on my arms. I sat up and felt pain in my ribs. I immediately lay back down. I see Madam Pomfrey coming toward me with bottles in her hand. "Here." She hands one to me, "Drink this, you'll feel better." I didn't argue and I drank the whole thing. It tasted awful.

But a few hours later I did feel a little better and Madam Pomfrey let me go. She said I was excused from classes for the rest of the day.

I went to the dormitory and started to do homework that was due today. I was hoping that James, Sirius, or Peter had it. If not I could find someone else. I looked over at the clock and realized that they would be back any minute and that they would be asking questions. Now, I was hoping that I was a good liar.

The door opened, "I know that they don't let first years play but that- Remus! Where were you?" James stopped his current conversation.

"I wasn't feeling well and Madam Pomfrey made me stay over night."

"Glad your back mate." Peter said.

"Oh!" James exclaimed, "Here are the notes from today." He reached into his bag and handed them to me. The notes were very detailed, something I wouldn't think James would do.

"But, you never take notes." I say confused.

"I know, but I know you like to take notes so I thought I would do it for you, no big deal." I smiled and thought for a second that maybe I could tell them.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Peter's POV It was almost Halloween and I was very excited. I heard from some of the older students that there's a big feast that day. I loved Hogwarts more than I expected. I guess it was because I had really good friends that I never expected to have. Within the first five minutes of meeting each other, I think it was established that we were all best friends. The only thing I didn't like about Hogwarts was the homework. It was harder than I expected. I didn't think we would have that much either considering it is a magical school. But I didn't want to have to write essays on Potions. Which I was doing now. It seemed like Sirius was reading my mind, "Remus, will you help us with the Potions essay?" Remus rolled his eyes and walked over to us, "What do you need?" "I don't know about Peter, but I'm stuck on writing about the snake fangs." We had to write an essay about all of the ingredients in Cure for Boils. "I'm just stuck on the conclusion." I said. "Alright, conclusions are a bit tricky. So basically, write why each of the ingredients are important to making Cure for Boils." "Ok, thank you." Remus starts helping Sirius while I write my conclusion. Before I knew it, me and Sirius had both finished our essays. "So what do you guys wanna do now?" Sirius asked. "We could plan our next prank." James said of course, "Because so far we've only pulled one." "We have to make the prank better this time." Sirius said. "I can look up some spells and see if I can find anything that will give us some ideas." Remus suggested. "Maybe we can all go to the library after dinner." I offered. I doubted that James or Sirius wanted to go to the library though. "Can't you too just go to the library on your own?" Sirius complained. "Yeah, I'm sure you two can handle it on your own." James added. "Alright, fine, I guess that works." I said. "Let's go to dinner, I'm starving!" James said. "You're always hungry!" Sirius said. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

James's POV

"Guys! I think we've got something!" Remus and Peter came back to the common room after looking for spells that we could use for a prank. "It's a spell that doesn't let you talk, you could only sing."

"That's amazing!" Sirius said.

"I think we should test it out on one of us first." I said, "Do you have a counter spell?"

Remus nodded, "We do."

"Okay, you can test it on me but then you have to use the counter spell immediately after!"

"We will." Remus took out his wand, " _Cantamus."_

"What should I say?" I sang. It sounded awful too, I was never a good singer.

"Ha! It worked!" Sirius said laughing.

"Use the counter spell." They all burst out laughing again. "Oh come on."

After a few minutes of laughing Remus said, "Okay, okay, _vocamus."_

"Okay, I can actually speak now."

"Alright, so now we know this works." Peter said.

"We should use it on one of the teachers!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Which teacher should we mess with then?" I ask.

"I think it would be funny to mess with a really strict teacher." Sirius said.

"We should definitely go with McGonagall then." Peter said. We all burst out laughing at the thought of McGonagall singing through a lesson.

"That would definitely make my year!" I say.

"I'm so excited!" Sirius said, "Who's going to be the one to cast the spell?"

"I'll do it, I've already done it on James and it worked." Remus said. This surprised all of us. Out of everyone to volunteer to prank a teacher it was least likely to be Remus.

"Are you sure Remus? I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to learn and I don't want to see you get in trouble." I said.

"It's a third year spell." He responded.

"I could at least try."

"Alright, try it on me- I've already had a go at you."

I took out my wand and pointed it at Remus. " _Cantamus."_

"Umm, hello?" Remus spoke.

"Dang it!"

"Try and picture me singing while you're casting the spell."

"Alright, _Cantamus."_

"Hello." Remus sang.

"I did it! I did a third year spell! Wait, what was the counter spell?"

"Oh come on James!" Remus sang again.

"Oh wait I got it. _vocamus_."

"Good job James." Remus said once he could speak again.

"Thanks. Now I can use the spell on McGonagall instead of you." I didn't want Remus to get in trouble.

"Well, if you can do a third year spell now, imagine how good you'll be when we actually make it to third year." Sirius commented.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, it was just one spell." I said even though I was very happy with what I did. And I couldn't wait until tomorrow.

JPSBRLPP

Sorry about the way the least chapter looked, to sure what happened.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Sirius's POV

We were sitting at breakfast the next day, anxiously waiting for Transfiguration. We were waiting when an owl came down and gave the four us each one piece of parchment and a letter to James. "Oh it's Snuffles!"

"Snuffles? Really Jamesy?" I questioned

"I got him when I was five alright!" James said as he opened the letter.

Dear James,

As you will have noticed, I sent your friends something as well. It is parchment that allows you to talk to each other in class. Only you four will be able to see it and to erase the parchment all you have to say is Mischief Managed. So you can keep writing on it the next day. I'll see you at Christmas.

Love,

Dad

"Guys! My dad sent us all enchanted paper! We can use it to talk to each other in class."

"That is brilliant! Your dad is amazing James!" I said excitedly.

"If you want to get rid of the messages, all you have to say is Mischief Managed, then all the writing will go away form all of the papers." James explained. Peter looked excited but not nearly as excited as I or James was, but Remus didn't seem to care about the enchanted parchment. He probably wanted to focus on taking notes in class or something.

"Well, this is going to be a very fun class." I said while standing up. Everyone else stood up too and grabbed their bags and their parchment.

We got to class earlier than usual because we were too excited to wait. We all had our parchment laid out on our desks.

Professor McGonagall walked in a few minutes later. She started talking about what we would be learning next. I went to write on the parchment.

 **James, I think you should cast the spell now -SB**

Once she turns her back I will -JP

Please be careful -RL

A few minutes later I heard James mutter the spell. McGonagall turned around holding a bird and began to sing. She clapped a hand over her mouth as the whole class burst into laughter. Unfortunately, she knew the counter spell and she wasn't singing anymore. "Who did that?" She waited a few moments while no one said anything. James shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Fine, if you won't tell me who did it, I will find out. Please pass up your wands. I can check what spell was last cast from the wand." She went through the wands one by one until she found out it was James. "James Potter, you stay behind, everyone else is dismissed."

"Can we wait for James?" I asked.

She sighed "I don't see why not." She replied. "My question is how on Earth did you manage to do that?"

"Huh?"

"That is a third year level spell and you're only two months into your first year."

"Well, I had some help learning the spell." James said.

"Who helped you?" McGonagall was very curious about who it was.

"It was Remus, but he had nothing to do with this, I swear."

She looked over at Remus, "Mr. Lupin and Mr. Potter I am very impressed with you. But, there will still be a punishment for what you did. Mr. Potter, you will serve two detentions tonight and on Thursday, is that clear?"

"Yes Professor." James replied.

"Alright, off you go."

Peter waited until we got outside to say, "That was amazing!"

"I know right! Class ended early!" I added.

"She mostly seemed impressed though." Remus said.

"More you than me, you're the one who taught it to me." James said.

"That's why she didn't take away any points." Remus noted.

"Come on guys, let's go to lunch." I said, "We might as well take advantage of getting there before anyone else."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Remus's POV

It was Halloween and everyone was excited. There was supposed to be a huge feast today. I was excited for my first Halloween at Hogwarts, maybe we'll do something interesting in our classes today. I was eating when I got a letter from my mum.

 **Dear Remus,**

 **Happy Halloween! I wanted to send you some candy since there might not be any at the feast. I hope you're enjoying your time at Hogwarts! Be safe.**

 **Love,**

 **Mum**

"Remus… what's in that package there?" I hear Sirius say as he's looking over my shoulder.

I sigh, "My mum sent me some candy, and yes, you can have some- later!" I add quickly. They look slightly disappointed at me but I just ignored them. I put the letter and candy in my bag and continue eating.

"Ugh, we have History of Magic today." Peter says. He hated History of Magic. In fact, everyone did. I wasn't overly fond of the class either, it was kind of boring. Today wasn't _as_ boring as usual. Professor Binns was telling us about the different Halloweens at Hogwarts. We didn't have to take notes, but no one did anyway. We had out the enchanted parchment though.

Okay, this isn't that bad -PP

 **Yeah, some of it's interesting at least -SB**

We also don't have to study any of this -JP

 _Like you study anyway -RL_

I do! -JP

Sometimes at least -JP

 _Sure -RL_

 **Don't you think its weird that someone died on Halloween? -SB**

It is a bit weird -JP

 _Guys, class is over -RL_

They all look up to see everyone standing up and putting their bags on their shoulders. They began to quickly pack up their books. Everyone was happier today from the more interesting History of Magic lesson.

The day went by really fast because everyone was excited for the feast. All of the teachers seemed more relaxed today too. I think they wanted to let us have fun today.

One thing was for sure, James, Sirius, and Peter were ecstatic. I was very excited as well to spend Halloween with my friends. I always went trick or treating with my mum, but never with friends. I never had any friends to go with. Obviously we weren't gonna do that but we were going to celebrate in a way.

There was a lot of food at the feast. It looked like there was more than at the Welcoming Feast. We were having a great time. This was the best Halloween I've ever had.

That is, until the centaur. A centaur burst into the Great Hall causing many people to scream. Everyone's attention turned to where the centaur was standing. "Firenze, what is the matter?"

"Excuse me Professor, I apologize greatly but I couldn't wait very long. May I speak to you privately?"

"Of course." Dumbledore stood up and walked with Firenze out of the Great Hall. Slowly everyone resumed talking.

"What do you think happened?" Peter whispered.

"I don't know, I've never seen a centaur before. Very fascinating."

"Why did it come here? I thought they weren't allowed to leave the forest." James said.

"Something bad must've happened if he had to interrupt a feast." I commented again. Dumbledore came back in, whispered something to McGonagall, and then left again. He didn't return for the remainder of the feast. I hope everything is okay.

We arrived back in the dorm room and ate sweets that we got. We were also trying to teach Peter and Sirius wizard chess. It ended with Sirius throwing a pawn across the room. It was the best Halloween I've ever had.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Peter's POV

Everything just kept getting better and better. Besides homework of course, but Remus helped me sometimes. Everyone was talking about what happened on Halloween. There were so many different rumors no one knew which one was true, or if any were true at all. I don't think what happened will affect us though; I just think something bad happened to the centaurs. I hope they're okay.

It was now November, and Remus has disappeared for the third time. "Where could he possibly be?" Sirius said aggravated.

"I don't know but it's the third time he's gone off like this. Really, why can't he tell us where he's going?" James was angry as well. I was a little angry as well to be honest.

"I just wish that he would trust us." I added.

"Maybe he will eventually, we have only known him for three months." James said.

"I guess." I know Sirius feels the same way I do because he has the same expression on his face. Remus came back the next morning looking hurt and tired, "Remus mate, are you all right?" James asked immediately.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Where were you last night?" Sirius wastes no time getting to the point.

"I was visiting my mother, she's ill."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I hope she feels better soon." Sirius says.

"Thanks. You guys can go ahead to breakfast, I want to shower. I'll meet you in classes." The others looked at each other uneasily.

"Are you sure?" I asked first.

"Yeah, go ahead." We didn't want to leave Remus, or have him not eat breakfast, but we nodded and left anyway.

"I really hope he's okay." James said once the door was closed.

"Me too. But right now we have important matters to discuss." Sirius said in an attempt to pick up the mood.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Our next prank of course!" James and Sirius said in unison.

"You know, it kinda freaks me out when you do that." And we laugh on our way to breakfast.

* * *

I have a bit of trouble writing in Peter's POV... this might be the last chapter that way


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

James' POV

"Guys! It's almost Christmas!" Was how I woke everyone up that day. "It's only two days until break!"

"Don't remind me." Sirius says as he rolls over.

"You don't want to see your family?" Peter says.

"Not particularly." He gets up and takes his robes to the bathroom.

"Why not?" Remus chimed in. Sirius didn't respond but James knew the reason and he wanted to do something about it. I grabbed a quill and parchment and began to write. "What's that for?" Peter asked.

"I'm writing to my parents."

"We are going home in 2 days you know."

"I know, but this is important."

I finished writing the letter before everyone was done getting ready and left for the Owlery so I could meet everyone at breakfast. My mum was usually quick with responding so I could let Sirius know by the end of the end and I could not wait. "James, you couldn't wait for us?" Sirius questioned.

"I had to bring my letter to Snuffles."

"James, we're going home in two days."

"I know, but this was important." I almost told him what the letter was about nut decided against it. I wanted to tell him later as a surprise because my parents wold probably say yes. I couldn't wait!

My mum replied by dinner and I told Sirius right after. I had to make sure that Remus and Peter weren't around though. "Sirius! Would you want to stay with me over break?"

"James, I would love to but there is absolutely no way my parents would let me go."

"Can't you ask?"

"Look, I would love to spend Christmas with you, but my parents would never let me. They're already going to be furious with me as it is."

"Well, if it gets bad, just floo over to my place alright?"

He nods, "Thanks, that means a lot."

"Of course. We should get back to the others now though."

"Yeah." We start walking when Sirius adds, "This Christmas might not be as bad as I thought."

"It won't be." I said confidently. I trusted that Sirius would come over if things got too bad. I needed to find something though that would let me talk to Sirius when we weren't at Hogwarts. Something faster than a letter delivered by an owl. I'll ask my dad to look when I get home.

"I'm happy we don't have a lot of work this week." Peter said once we were in the dormitory.

"We should play Exploding Snap!" I suggested.

"Sure, Frank, do you want to play?" Remus asked their other roommate.

Frank seemed surprised but said, "Yeah, sure. Are you guys all going home over break?"

"We all are." I replied first. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. "Are you?"

"Yeah." He seemed happy about going home. In fact, everyone was happy about going home except Sirius. It wasn't fair, he deserved so much better. I know I wouldn't be able to fix his situation, but I was going to do everything I can to make it better.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Sirius' POV

It's here. The day I've been dreading since I got sorted. The day I would have to go home. When I would have to face my parents. I was happy that James offered me to stay with him so I wouldn't have to go home, but it would never work and I was too scared to try. It was only two weeks and then I would be back at school. I could last that long.

We were boarding the train now and I was with James, Remus and Peter. All of them smiling and happy. I could see James taking worried glances at me though. Making sure I was alright. I was grateful to have such a good friend. It was much more than I ever expected. "Can you believe it? Christmas is in two days!" James exclaimed.

"I'm guessing you're excited." I replied.

"Why wouldn't you be?" Peter said.

"I love Christmas!" James repeated, "I hope it snows!"

"I heard that it was going to." Remus said.

This raised James' hopes, "Really?"

"Yes, now get on the train!" We found an empty compartment and all sat in it. Once we all got settled, a red haired girl and a boy came in, "Do you mind if we sit here?" The girl said.

"Not at all." Remus said, "I'm Remus." He offered his hand being as polite as he is.

"I'm Lily and this is Severus, nice to meet you." The girl said.

"This is James, Sirius and Peter." Remus said pointing to all of us.

"You're all in Gryffindor right? I think I've seen you." Lily asked.

"Yeah, aren't you too?" James said.

"I am, but Sev is in Slytherin." He looked like a Slytherin. But then again, I probably did too.

Apparently Severus did notice, "Aren't you a Black?"

"How did you know?" Peter said.

"His cousins are in Slytherin and I've talked to them a few times." He explains.

"What's your name then?" Sirius questions.

"Snape." Snape? That wasn't a pureblood name. I wonder what he was doing talking to Bellatrix and Narcissa and why they would let him.

The trolley came by a few moments later, "Anything from the trolley dears?"

"I'll have a chocolate frog. I'm trying to collect more cards." I said as I took money from my pocket. I open the box and the frog jumped out. It jumped right where Lily was sitting and she caught, making the spell stop working. "Keep it, I just want the card." And the card was great. "I got Godric Gryffindor!"

"You see? That proves you should be in Gryffindor, not Slytherin." James said confidently.

"Thanks mate."

"You're wrong." Snape spoke up.

"What did you say?" James said starting to get defensive.

"All Black's belong in Slytherin. That's just the way it is."

"You can shut up right now!" James yelled.

"James, it's fine." I say.

"No it's not!"

"No need to shout at him." Lily said.

"He," James pointed to Snape, "has no right to say something like that. You better not say something like that again."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Come on Sev, I'm sure we can find some other place to sit."

Once the door closed behind him I said, "James, what was that?"

"He can't just say stuff like that!"

"No, but it's just cause he's jealous."

"Jealous?" Remus piped up.

"Yeah, he's not a pureblood. He probably just wants to be apart of a proud pureblood family."

"How can you be so sure?" James questions.

"His last name. My parents drilled the names of all the best pureblood families into my head. Snape is not one of them."

"If that's all it was then." James said even though I could tell that he was still a bit angry. "We should still get back at that git."

"Let's try and think of some pranks we can pull on him over holiday." Peter suggested.

"Yeah! If you come up with a good one, write to all of us!" James said. I nodded even though I doubt that I would be able to write. But receiving letters could make the break more bearable.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 **Sirius' POV**

"You disgraceful child!" my dad screamed as soon as we were at Black manor. "You had one job, one! And that was to get into Slytherin!" He smacked me hard. "In fact I would have been okay with anything but Gryffindor! You just mess everything up!"

"I wanted to be in Slytherin!" I defended.

"That's not good enough!" He roared back, "You deserve to be punished for this." He took off his belt and started hitting me with it. The pain was severe but I would not allow myself to scream. "Go upstairs! I don't want to see you until dinner." I took my trunk upstairs and immediately curled up on my bed. Soon enough there was a knock on the door.

"Yeah?" It was Regulus.

"Sirius!" He ran over and hugged me.

I hugged back, "Hey Reggie. How's it been here?"

"Awful without you."

"Did they hit you at all?"

"Just once when dad was drunk. Not nearly as bad as what they do to you though."

I nodded, "Good."

"How's Hogwarts?"

"Amazing, you'll love it Reg."

"I can't wait."

"I wish you could just come with me now."

"You should've been in Slytherin though."

"Reg- why?"

"So mum and dad wouldn't be mad at you know."

"I don't care what they think of me Reg, they can do whatever they want." I was being serious. I wasn't going to do anything just because they wanted to for their pureblood mania. I was done.

"Just be careful with them okay?"

"Okay, I promise."

Regulus nodded, "Good."

 **James' POV**

I woke up early today, well, who doesn't wake up early today? It's Christmas! I run into my parent's bedroom, "Mum! Dad! Wake up! It's Christmas!"

"Alright sweetie, we're getting up." Mum said. I ran down the steps knowing that my parents would follow. When they got down the stairs I immediately gave them their presents. When we got back I asked to go to Diagon Alley to get them their gifts. "Oh James, you're so sweet." They sit down and open them. They were matching sweaters.

"Thank you James." Dad said.

"Go on and open yours now." The first one I pick up was rectangular and heavy. I ripped of the paper to find two mirrors.

"What's this for?"

"I'll show you. Hand me one of them and then take the other one with you into the other room." Dad said.

I gave him one and ran upstairs. I sat on the top step. "James." It's my dad, but it's not a shout. I look down at the mirror and I see my dad's face. "Woah! I can see you!"

"It's a two-way mirror. You can use it with Sirius." I came back down the stairs.

"Thank you, it's perfect! I'll rewrap it later and send it to him with his other gifts." It turns out there was no need though. It was just before lunch when I heard someone come through on the floo.

"James, stay right here, we'll check who it is." Dad said and went into the living room. I did as I was told, I stood in the kitchen, leaning against the wall to hear. "Who are you?" My dad asks.

I recognize the voice immediately, "I-I'm sorry for coming in like this but James said I could come if it got bad."

I run into the living room, "Sirius!" He looked like he was about to collapse.

"James, I'm sorry-"

"No, you did the right thing coming here!" I tried to convince him. I hug him and he grips on tight like he's trying to believe this was real. "What happened?"

"My parents invited a bunch of other families over for Christmas. We were having lunch and they were all saying so many awful things… I couldn't take it anymore James, I had to leave."

"I know, I know, it's okay." I said trying to calm him down. I hated seeing him like this. "Mum, Dad, this is Sirius, he can stay right?"

"Of course he can." Mum responded. "Who are your parents though?"

"Umm, they're Orion and Walburga Black."

My parents eyes widened when he said that, "Oh, then absolutely. I know how the Blacks can be sometimes. Have you had anything to eat?"

"Not really, no. Everyone had just started to eat lunch so I saw that as my opportunity to leave." Sirius explained.

"Well, I'll fix you something to eat then."

"Thank you Mrs. Potter." Sirius said. And Mum and Dad went into the kitchen.

"Oh, I'll be right back." I said and ran into the kitchen for a moment to get Sirius his present. "Here." I handed it to him, " I was gonna mail it to you, but it seems kind of pointless now."

"A mirror?"

"It's a two-way mirror. So you can take it back to your house over the summer and if you ever feel lonely just say my name in the mirror until I answer."

"James, this is amazing! I can't thank you enough for this."

"Well what are friends for?" I was really happy that he liked it, it made me feel better too.

"James, I don't think I can go back there."

"You don't have to."

"Yeah, but I don't have any of my stuff. I always have my trunk packed just in case something like this happens but I didn't have time to get it."

"So, your trunk is already packed?"

"Yeah."

"Well then maybe me and my dad could get it." I suggest.

"What? No! That's a terrible idea."

"No, we'd go on our brooms to your window and grab it and go."

"What would you do if you got caught?"

"We're not going to."

"James-"

"Sirius, it'll work out fine."

"Alright. I'm trusting you."

"Good, now get some rest, you look exhausted mate. You can sleep in my bed."

"Alright, thanks."

"Anytime."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Remus' POV

I was at King's Cross standing next to my mom. "Now, you be good alright? I'll see you over the summer."

"Bye mum love you." I hug her, and get on the train. I sit in the same compartment that we all sat in going to Hogwarts. "Oh hi Remus!" Peter opened the door to the compartment and sat inside, "I knew I'd find you here. Where's James and Sirius?"

"I don't know but they should be coming soon."

"Hey guys!" James said walking into the compartment.

"Soon meaning now." I said talking to Peter. "How were all your breaks? Did you get my presents?"

"Yeah, I loved it Remus, how did you know I was with James though?"

"He wrote to me. Why were you there in the first place?"

"My parents were being annoying and I decided to get away."

"Sorry I didn't get anything for you guys though."

"Don't worry about it mate." Peter said.

"Well, the break would have been much better if you guys were there too." James said.

"Maybe we could stay with each other over Easter?" Sirius suggested.

"Yeah, let's not worry about that now though." James said, "because we need to focus on our next prank!"

"James, do we really always need to prank someone?" I asked trying to convince them not to do it.

"Yes." All three of them responded.

"Well I'm not going to help you this time." I said.

"What?" James practically shouted.

"You heard me. I don't want to help."

"Remmy! We need you though." Sirius pleaded.

"Don't call me that and that stinks for you cause I'm not helping."

"What? You don't like Remmy?" Sirius said.

I rolled my eyes at him, "I'm sure you can figure something out without my help. It just wouldn't be as good."

"We can pull a good prank without you!" James exclaimed.

"We'll see." Unfortunately for me, they did. I woke up the next morning to see that I couldn't pull open my curtains. They were stuck to each other as well as the wall. "I'm going to kill all of you!" I screamed and I heard laughter in response. "Open these right now!"

"Why should we?" Sirius said.

"Because we have classes!"

"There's nothing important going on in those." James dismissed.

"What did you do anyway?" I had to admit, I was curious as to how they did it.

"We just glued them together with muggle glue. It's surprisingly strong." James explained.

"I'm gonna miss classes on the first day back!"

"Well, you're the one who said we couldn't put on a prank without you." Peter remarked.

I was infuriated. "Let me out!" I screamed.

"Eh, maybe later." Sirius says. I hear them laughing and then the door close. I sit on my bed and try to think of a way to get out of here. I pull my trunk out from under my bed and put on my robes, trying to get ready and save as much time as possible. I then noticed that the curtains weren't glued to the ceiling, only to the walls and floor. I pulled as hard as I could and they eventually broke free. I stepped over them and they automatically repaired themselves. There were still glued shut, but that was a problem for another time. I brushed my teeth, grabbed my bag, and then went down to breakfast.

James, Sirius, and Peter all looked shocked to see me sit down next to them. "How did you get out of that?" James asked.

"I'm not telling you."

"Why not?" Peter said.

"Because you wouldn't make the same mistake next time."

"We did not make a mistake." Sirius said.

"If you didn't then I wouldn't be here. Admit it, you need me to pull a prank."

"Never!" James shouts.

"Fine, then how about a prank war?" I suggest. "According to the code that we made, I'm allowed to get back at you."

"Oh that'd be so much fun!" Sirius said.

"But, someone has to be on my team." I remind them.

No one says anything for a moment, "I'll be on your team." Peter says.

"This is going to be great." James says a little too excited.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

James' POV

Our first Marauder prank war. When we got back to the dorm, we made the rules. The rules were:

The war will last until one of the teams forfeit

No one outside the Marauders is allowed to help either of the teams

The pranks can only affect the other Marauders

"We all clear on that?" I said when I finished writing.

"There aren't many rules." Remus commented.

"We wouldn't want to restrict ourselves too much." Sirius gave the reasoning. I was very excited and I believed me and Sirius have the upper hand. For one, we weren't afraid to get in trouble, and two, we were a lot more creative.

"Alright Peter, let's go." Remus said pulling him to the door.

"Where?"

"I have an idea." Peter realized what Remus was trying to do and they both left.

When we were sure they were out of earshot I started talking, "Okay, so what's our first idea?" I ask Sirius.

"I have something." And I start explaining.

Remus' POV

When I hear a scream from the bathroom the next morning, me and Peter exchange glances and know that our prank worked. Sirius comes out of the bathroom with bright pink hair, "This is not funny!" Luckily, James was still asleep and was still half asleep when he went into the shower this morning. He came out with pink hair as well. They were both infuriated.

"When is this gonna wear off?" James complained.

I shrug, "I don't know, never tried it before."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Sirius practically screams at him.

"I'm sure there's a spell or potion that would get the pink out, but I'm not helping you find it." I laughed.

"You're gonna pay for this!" James shouted.

"That is the whole point of this prank war." Peter pointed out. Peter and I start walking to the Great Hall while James and Sirius tried to work out their hair. "I can't believe that worked so well." Peter said.

"Yeah, hopefully we'll be able to figure out their prank on us." And we did, I saw Sirius trying to put something in my goblet, but Peter didn't notice and drank after James put something into his drink. He ended up with rather large ears. People started looking over and laughing. I held up my wand and said " _Reducio_ " and they went back to normal. "Oh come on Remus, that's not fair!" Sirius said annoyed.

"It's not my fault that you can't come up with a better prank."

"We'll see about that." James said confidently.

The day went on pretty normally, well as normal as it can considering tonight was the full moon. I was exhausted and felt worn out. None of this was new, but it was never a pleasant experience. It wasn't until later that the rest of them had realized there was something wrong with me today. I was accidentally falling asleep in class. "You should go to the hospital wing mate." James said.

"I'm fine, I'll wait until classes are over."

"Really, I can take notes for you." He added to try and convince me.

"Please Remus." Sirius said trying to help James.

"Ugh fine, I'm too tired to argue."

Sirius starts walking with me, "What are you doing?" I ask him.

"I'm gonna walk you to the hospital wing."

"You really don't have to do that… you'll be late to class."

"Since when have I cared about that."

"I'm not going to convince you am I."

"Nope, come on." Sirius said proudly. He keeps talking to try and make me laugh and I did a little bit, I just didn't have much energy.

"Thanks Sirius, I'll see you later." I said when we got there.

"See you later." He waves and walks back to class at a slower pace. When I walk inside the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey is there with another. "Remus," She says surprised, "I didn't expect to see you here so early."

"My friends made me."

She laughed, "Well good for them. You can go and sleep for a little while."

I got back early the next morning while most people were still asleep. This was a relatively calm moon for a reason I couldn't explain and she let me go earlier than usual. James and Peter were sleeping, but Sirius was wide awake. He always got up early and it was a little annoying since he always tried to wake the rest of us up. "I can see that you figured out how to fix your hair."

"No thanks to you; where were you?"

"Madam Pomfrey made me stay over night." It was too easy to lie to them. I felt so bad, but they can never know what I really am.

"Oh that stinks, but there's something even worse that came out of it."

"What?" What could have possibly happened in those 12 hours?

"Well, bad for you, great for me. Peter surrendered."

"Oh, really? What happened?"

"Me and James charmed all of his belongings to become soaking wet. He couldn't change it back and we wouldn't do it unless he surrendered."

"That's actually kind of impressive."

"You're not upset?" Sirius said shocked.

Remus shook his head, "Nah, I didn't like it anyways. I'm just glad it's over."

"Would you guys be quiet?" James said muffled from under a sheet, "It's not time to get up yet and I deserve at least another hour."

"Alright Jamesy, we'll be quiet so you can get your beauty sleep." Sirius said, which made both of us laugh.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Sirius' POV

I was starting to get worried about Remus. He disappeared to visit his mother three more times before Easter break and every time he came back looking terrible. We all knew by this point that he wasn't visiting his mother. "I just don't understand why he can't tell us!" I complain to James and Peter.

"He's probably afraid." Peter replied.

"Or he doesn't trust us enough." James offered.

"If he won't tell us then we should find out ourselves."

"And how are you planning to do that?"

"I'll get back to you on that. Anyway, we should get going, the train is gonna leave soon."

"I'm so excited to spend Easter with you guys!" I said when we started walking out.

"Happy Easter!" James decided this was the best way to wake all of us up; to scream that while walking in and turning on the lights, "Come on, get up!"

"James, this isn't Christmas, why do we have to get up so early?" I complained.

"We have a tradition, well, it's a muggle tradition that my parents heard about somehow and we really liked it. The muggles have this thing called the Easter Bunny and he hides eggs with candy in them. So, my parents hide eggs and we have our own little Egg Hunt."

"So… how does this work?" Peter asked still confused.

"Right now my parents are hiding plastic eggs inside and outside and whoever finds the most wins."

"Oh you're on James." I started to stand up when I got pushed back down by James.

"You can't go yet! They're still being hidden. My parents will come up and tell us when we can start looking."

A few minutes later James' parents were there, "I hope James explained it to you by now." Mrs. Potter said.

Remus nodded, "He did, but I'm curious, why take up a muggle tradition?"

"Oh, we just thought it was very interesting and that James would like it. So, here are some baskets that you can use to put the eggs in once you find them. They are anywhere inside and outside the house. Good luck."

We all grabbed the baskets and left running. James had the advantage because this was his house and he had done this before, but the rest of us were going in blind. I was determined to win anyway. I raced through the hallway looking everywhere, by the time I reached the end, I already found two eggs. I figured most of the eggs would be outside, so I went there first.

When I got there, no one else was there, so I got almost every egg that I saw. James had come outside a couple minutes later so it didn't last for long.

Eventually, we're looking around and finding nothing anywhere. We finally decided to go inside and count what we got. "What did everyone get?" I asked eagerly.

"22." Peter said sadly.

"24." Remus added.

"27, beat that!" James said proudly.

"Um… 27." I said. He just stared at me.

"You're kidding." James said.

"Well, it looks like we have two winners then!" Mrs. Potter announced cheerfully, "But of course, everyone wins, because now they get to eat lots of candy and chocolate." Remus' face lit up at the mention of chocolate and started looking through the eggs to find some. We all laughed and honestly, it was kind of cute.

I really wanted to win though! I know James did too, but none of that mattered.

"Guys! I had an idea!" I said as I ran into James' where he was sitting with Peter. Remus was currently taking a nap.

"What is it and what for?" Peter asked.

"It's about Remus. We could start marking down all of the dates that he leaves and try to see if there's any relationship between them. We'll have to start now, since none of us probably memorized when he was gone."

"That's brilliant Sirius! I hope this works." James exclaimed.

"Honestly, I don't even care what the secret is, I just want to help him."

"Me too." Peter said confidently.

"That settles it then. We'll write down the date the next time he leaves." James said.

They all sit in silence for a while until I spoke up, "We're not doing this just to figure it out, we're doing this so we can help him."

"I agree." James said.

"It even said so in the Marauders Code that we made, not to tell lies to each other." Peter spoke up to our surprise.

"I didn't even think about that Pete." James complimented him and Peter smiled at that. We all hear footsteps running up the stairs, and that ends our conversation.

Remus opened the door, "Hey lads, sorry, I was exhausted, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's alright Remus, not a big deal." James replied.

"So," Remus began, "What do we do for the rest of the day?"

"Well, I was thinking me and Sirius could teach you and Peter how to fly." James said.

Remus immediately began shaking his head, "No, absolutely not, that is a very bad idea. You all saw how bad I was in class!"

They both laughed, "That's exactly why we want to teach you now." I pointed out.

"I don't know if I'll be good, but I'll try." Peter said.

"That's the spirit Pete!" James said and clapped a hand on his back and ran out of the room, I immediately followed with Peter coming right after me. I know Remus left last.

We're all outside and James runs to what looks like a shed and comes back with two brooms. "Sorry, it's all I've got. We'll go two at a time. I'll teach Peter, and Sirius, you can teach Remus." And with that, James handed the better broom to Peter and began to hover above the ground while talking to Peter.

"Come on Remus, let's move a little bit away from them." I suggested. He nods and we walk over and sit on the bench at the far end of the yard. We watch Peter shakily lift off the ground just by a couple feet and touch the ground again. "So, how have you been Remus?"

"I've been fine. It's been great staying here with you guys. What about you?"

"I'm fine too. This is a lot better than staying at Hogwarts alone, or going back to Grimmauld Place." I paused a moment before saying, "I have no idea how I'm going to make it through the summer." Remus looks up at me sympathetically, "I mean, Christmas was two weeks and I had to leave. I have to go back for _over two months_. Not to mention they're gonna give me hell because of what happened at Christmas." I lean down and put my head in my hands, then run my hands through my hair as I sit back up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go on like that."

"It's fine Sirius, sometimes you just need to get things out of your system. And you'll be fine. You can stay with James whenever you need to, or even ask me. I'll be around most of the time."

"Then who would watch out for Regulus? I can't leave him alone."

"Regulus?" He questioned.

"He's my brother. He'll be at Hogwarts in two years. I can't leave him alone with them. I can't stand the thought of him being alone now. I need to be there with him as much as I can." Remus looked shocked. I guess I forgot to mention I had a brother.

"First of all, why didn't you tell me you had a brother?" I was right.

"I don't know… I guess it just never came up."

Remus shakes his head and laughs, "Leave it to you to forget to say you had a brother. But anyway, if you really are intent on staying there for Regulus, try and not get yourself in trouble."

"It's not like I even doing anything most of the time. They just blame me for everything!"

"Then give them less reasons."

"You always know what to say don't you Remmy?" He smiles, but doesn't say anything about the nickname this time, "Thank you."

"Of course Sirius. I'm your friend, it's what I'm here for."

I considered this for a while. Before this year, I never had anybody that I could talk to when I needed someone. I had Reg, but I never told him everything. It was nice knowing I had someone like that. "You know you can tell me anything right?"

Remus starts shaking his head, "No, I can't not yet anyway."

"Remus, I won't care, the others wouldn't either."

"I know, but there's something that I'm not ready to tell you. When I'm ready I'll tell you, I promise… but not now."

"Okay, I believe you." I jump up from the bench, "Come on, it looks like James and Pete are done, it's my turn to teach you now."

Just a heads up! I will be adding Wolfstar later in... most likely around their 4th or 5th year. Forgot to mention this at the beginning and just so I don't surprise anyone with that.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Remus' POV

That was way too close. I think they're catching on. They can't know but I know they'll figure it out eventually, they're all smart. I just can't bear the thought of losing them. They're the best friends I've ever had- well the only friends I've ever had. That doesn't make it any different.

The full moon is only a few days after we get back, they'll definitely think it's weird. We were at the station, about to get on the train. It was nice being all together instead of trying to find each other like last time, more relaxed. "You boys are positive you have everything?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"Yes mum, we're all sure." James sighed as he answered this for the third time.

Mrs. Potter laughed, "Just making sure." She hugged James and kissed him on top of his head, and to my surprise he didn't pull away. Most eleven-year old kids wouldn't hug their mother back in front of all their friends, but James was different. I liked that about him. "It was very nice to have you boys with stay with us. How about you get a seat on the train now?"

"Thank you for having us Mr. and Mrs. Potter." I said as I was walking onto the train.

"Anytime Remus." Mrs. Potter said.

We start walking until Mr. Potter calls Sirius, "Uh, Sirius, I would like to talk to you for a moment."

"Um, alright." Sirius said and went to talk to the Potters.

"Should I-" James began.

"No, son that's alright. Goodbye, we'll see you soon." Mr. Potter responded quickly. The rest of us went on the train and sat in the first compartment we could find so it would be easier for Sirius.

"What do you think they're talking about?" James asked, sounding a little concerned.

"How should we know?" I asked, "You know your parents better than us."

About a minute later Sirius walks in and James immediately asks him, "What did they want?"

He sighed, "It's not a big deal James."

"Sirius, they've never done that before with anyone, what happened?"

"Alright fine, they want me to consider staying with you for part of the summer."

"You should!" James exclaimed.

Sirius shook his head, "You know that's not an option James. They won't let me leave. And even if they let me, I wouldn't go." He paused before saying, "I can't leave my brother alone."

Peter and James stared at him with wide eyes, "You have a brother?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, his name's Regulus, two years younger than me."

"Why did you never tell us?" James asked sounding hurt.

"It has nothing to do with you… I guess it was just never particularly important."

"Sirius, your brother is a huge part of your life how could you not tell us?" James kept trying to tell him.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I still can't leave him."

James conceded, "I guess I can understand that."

Sirius nods, "Thank you." There was an uncomfortable silence afterwards. This was the second time I've had to hear Sirius say all of this, and I still don't understand it. I don't understand why he never told us about Regulus. I don't understand why he can't leave his brother. I don't understand why he won't let us help him.

None of us understand the extent of what's going on. _Maybe_ James does but I don't even think he knows. Sirius needs to know that he's allowed to ask us for help. That is kind of the whole point of why we're here.

I just realized how hypocritically I was thinking. I'm keeping a secret that could very well affect my life as well, and I still haven't told them. I've been living with them for almost a year now and they still don't know. I want to be honest with them because the guilt is eating away at me. Not to mention this makes my transformations worse as well. I promised Sirius I would tell them when I was ready, and I promised myself.

It was Peter who finally broke the silence, "So what are our plans when we get back?"

"Well, I had the idea that we should stop little pranks, and focus on one giant one for the end of the year!" James eagerly told us.

"I love it!" Sirius exclaimed, "It'll target the whole school. Except Gryffindors of course."

"Well, targeting the Gryffindors might be a good idea, because then it would be harder to determine who caused the prank." I stated.

They all looked astounded, "So, if the Gryffindors weren't affected by the prank, they would immediately know the people behind the prank were Gryffindors as well?" Peter asked.

"Exactly Pete." I said.

James sighed, "I guess that means the prank has to involve the whole school then."

"Not the teachers." I said unquestionably.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night Rem." Sirius said as he patted my shoulder.

"Alright, let's start thinking then." James said excitedly, "Any ideas?"

"So eager James, give us a bit. We're not just gonna come up with an idea like that." Sirius snapped his fingers, "We'll probably get some inspiration later along."

"Sirius," James whined, "I want to start planning now!"

"Then what are _your_ ideas." Sirius prompted.

"Well, since it's the end of the year, it has to be something fun. You know, something that will make people laugh because the fifth and seventh years are all getting stressed now."

"So what's something that's funny to everyone?" Sirius asked.

We all sat in silence, thinking over Sirius' question. "Well, what about snow?" Peter asks and all eyes fall on him, "It's not necessarily funny, but everyone loves it and we didn't get much of it this year."

"I love it Pete!" James exclaimed, "We could cast a charm or a spell that would make snow appear in the Great Hall in May or June!"

"Yes, but those spells are meant for smaller situations, we would need to make it so it was on a much larger scale." I pointed out. Most likely, I would be the one finding the spells and charms in the library.

"Well, we'll do our research and see if the four of us casting it would be enough for the Great Hall." James said.

"Umm, guys, I think we're almost at the school, let's change into our robes." We all took up Peter's suggestion and finished changing right before the train pulled into Hogsmeade station.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Remus' POV

I was right. I was the one trying to the find the spells for our big end of year prank. I was just about to leave when someone stopped me, "Hi, I'm sorry to bother you but I was wondering if you could help me find a book? I see you in here a lot so I thought you might know." A redheaded girl asked me.

"Yeah, of course, it's no bother. What are you looking for?"

"It's for astronomy, I'm not very good at it, so I was looking for something that might help me."

"Astronomy isn't over here- Remus by the way." I held out my hand.

"Oh! I believe we met before," I took my hand back, "on the train? You were the nice one who didn't yell at Severus."

"Lily, now I remember! I'm really sorry about that by the way, they're not usually like that."

"You didn't do anything wrong, don't apologize."

"Alright then, now about that book…" I found a book for Lily and then we stopped to talk for a while. It was really nice, I could talk to her without worrying about what I would say for once. She has that sort of personality where she can get you to tell her anything. "Honestly, I don't understand potions at all. Why do we need it anyway? Not all of us want to be potions masters and what else would you use it for?"

"Well I don't know. Maybe it's just to expose you to the topic to see if it's something you're interested in."

"I suppose so."

"But to be honest, I don't like it either."

"Me neither. I'm alright at it but James and Sirius always boast about how they're better than me at something. Which I don't mind!" I quickly added, "That they're better than me, that's fine just the fact that-"  
"Don't worry Remus, I get it." She assured me and I smiled. It was so weird. I never even told Peter that and here I was now. I only started talking to her half an hour ago.

"It's getting pretty late now, so we should start heading back to the Common Room." Lily suggested.

"Yeah, let's go." We got back to the Common Room right before curfew.

"This was fun," Lily said, "We should study together again some other time."

I nod, "I would enjoy that."

She smiled in return, "Good night Remus."

"Good night Lily." I walked up to my dorm with a smile on my face. I really like Lily, and I think we're friends now. For some reason, I don't get nervous talking her like I do with other people. Even the Marauders I was nervous talking to before we became friends. It's either her personality that makes it easier to be friends, or the Marauders helped me be less quiet. Either way, I'm happy to be her friend.

"Well someone looks happy." I turn around and all three Marauders looking at me. "Is it a girl?" Sirius joked.

"Yes, but not the way you think! Just as a friend." I defended myself.

"Awww come on Remmy tell us who she is." James continued with Sirius' joking.

"I will not, at least until you stop joking."

"No, I actually believe you fancy her because you look way too happy." Sirius said.

I sighed, "The reason I'm so happy is because she's my only friend outside of you guys. I'm not used to having a lot of friends. In fact, you lot were my first friends so I'm happy that I'm friends with this really nice girl."

"I'm sorry Remus, we didn't realize. I guess that explains why you were so shy at the beginning of the year." James was the first to say.

"Don't get me wrong, I love you guys but it's nice to meet other people."

"We understand." Peter said, "I mean, I never had friends before you guys either so…"

"Alright, we won't tease you about this girl then." Sirius said.

"You just have to tell us who she is." James finished.

I rolled my eyes at them, "It's the girl from the train, Lily."

"But she was so mean!" Sirius exclaimed.

"She was pretty though." James said.

We all turned to look at him with a startled expression on our faces, "She yelled at _you_ specifically!" Peter stated.

"She's actually really nice and smart. We mostly just studied together."

"Well that explains why you like each other." Sirius said.

"On a different note," I changed the topic, "I got the spells we need for the prank, but it's pretty advanced."

"Nothin' the four of us couldn't handle." James said confidently.

"Well, if it's advanced, I'm not sure if I'll be able to." Peter said shyly.

Sirius walked over to him, "If you want something badly enough, you'll always be able to do it. And besides, we'll help you."

"Also we need everyone to do it, otherwise, I'm not sure it would work." I added.

"So where would we practice this? Obviously, we would need a large space, and it has to be somewhere no one would find us." Peter said.

"You have a point there." James said slightly disappointed. "We'll think of something, I know we will."

"Not right now though," I said, "It's late and I'm going to sleep." After all, the full moon was in a few days and I needed my strength.

Sirius' POV

I hated when Remus left. Everything seemed just to get a little more dreary when he wasn't around. He just had this aura about him that put everyone around him at ease. It was a difficult thing to describe.

"Why does Remus have to leave?" Peter complained, "I need help with my charms homework." Everybody knew that Remus was the smartest out of all of us but it was something else too.

"We need to figure this out, and soon." I said.

"Well let's start marking the dates then." James said. He got up and grabbed an old notebook with nothing in it. "Okay, today is April 28." He said as he wrote it down, "There's our first date! For now, let's hide it." I didn't say anything, just took the book out of his hand and put it underneath my clothes in the drawer. "That works." James said with a shrug.

"Well, I hope he comes back soon at least. It's dull without him." I said.

"And, we can't practice the prank until he gets back cause he knows the most about it." James added.

"Remus is always the one who helps me."

"We help you Pete!" I said getting slightly defensive.

"It's nothing against you! I just like the way he explains things. It makes sense to me." Peter defended himself.

I agreed with him, "Yeah, I know. He's the smartest of us all. _And_ the most hardworking."

"You know what?" James stood up, "We know all of this already. He is the most hard working and the smartest but that doesn't mean we're completely lost without him. Let's work on our prank."

"You're right. Let's see how much we can get done tonight." I said excitedly.

"But, we don't have a place to practice the spell." Peter pointed out.

"Then that's what we'll do now." I said which got me weird looks from the others, "We'll brainstorm places to practice the spell."

"Oh okay." James said, "So Forbidden Forest?"

"No way." Peter sad immediately. And we continued to list places for the rest of the night.

Thanks for reading and please give me some feedback (doesn't have to be all good, I like to know what I can do better)

And sorry this chapter took so long, I'll try to get the next one up faster.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

James' POV

Remus got back in the middle of the next day and he didn't look good. We all pretended that we didn't notice.

"So while you were gone, we found a place to practice making snow." I started saying excitedly.

"That's great, where is it?" Remus asked.

Sirius decided to finish for me, "It's right behind the lake. Think about it. Nobody goes there this time of year because it's too humid in that area, if no one goes there they won't be able to see us behind it, _and_ the snow will melt quickly because it's so hot now."

"That's brilliant! I'm kind of impressed." Remus said while smiling.

"What, you didn't think we could do it?" Sirius took Remus' comment a different way.

Remus sighed, "I didn't mean it like that! More, I don't think I would have come up with it."

Sirius relaxed, "Oh."

"So when do you think we should start practicing the spell." I asked changing the subject a bit.

"Let's try for Sunday." Remus suggested- then added, "I'm exhausted." The three of us shared a knowing look.

"Well, I'm starving. Maybe once you get some food in you you'll be more awake." I told Remus. He didn't look thrilled, but he agreed anyway.

We all walked out of the dorm and headed to the Great Hall. We're almost at the Great Hall, and then someone bumped into me, "Oi, watch it!" I called back. Then we all turned and saw who it was. It was that Snape kid and the pretty girl from the train, "Well if it isn't.. Snivellus!" Sirius and Peter were laughing behind me.

"Just leave him alone won't you?" Evans spoke up, "What did he do to you?"

"You mean besides the fact that he's a slimy git?" Evans rolled her eyes and walked away with Snape.

"Why are you so mean to him James?" Remus asked me.

"I am not going to let anyone be mean to my friends." I said while glancing at Sirius. We didn't talk for the rest of the way there, and lunch was very silent as well.

"Here we are! Show us the spell Remus!" It was Sunday, and we were far behind the lake.

Remus stepped forward a little bit and recited, "Facere nix" and little amounts of snow were coming from his wand. The rest of us stared in amazement, and Sirius was right, it melted right away, "You have to teach us how to do that!" I said excitedly. I always loved snow and I knew that this would make other kids happy as well.

"Okay, the words are very simple, facere nix."

"Facere nix" We repeated back to him.

"Good, now aim your wand up on an angle, and picture this area filled with snow while you recite it."

We moved our wands on the angle and once again recited the spell. It was absolutely amazing. Snow was everywhere, but as soon as it touched the ground, it disappeared. "That, was amazing." Sirius said.

"This prank is going to be awesome!" Peter exclaimed.

"Now, wha' are four boys doin' outside on a hot day like this?" We hear a bellowing voice behind us. We turn around expecting to be in trouble, but instead, we see the man who led us to the boats on September 1. I think his name was Hagrid.

I tried my best to be casual, "We were just messing around."

"With very advanced magic." Hagrid said with raised eyebrows, "and did I hear you mention a prank?"

"Well we-" I started.

"Don' you worry, I won' turn ya in, I'm only the gamekeeper." We all nervously laugh, "Anyway, I look forward ter seein' what happens." And then he walked away, humming like we had never even been here.

"Well that was…" Sirius started

"Extremely close." I finished.

"We should try again once and then leave; someone else might come, and they might not be as nice as he was." Remus suggested. We all agreed and cast the spell together. There was even more snow than last time and we decided it would be enough to fill the Great Hall, if we held it for longer. So we decided to head back to the castle and play exploding snap.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Lily's POV

Those guys are so irritating. I have no idea why Remus hangs around with them. I understand that they share a dorm, but can't Remus just ignore them? I really did like Remus, he was very nice. Very different from Severus but I liked that. I couldn't talk about books with Sev much and Remus absolutely loved reading. But Severus was my first friend from this world and I didn't want to lose him. "Lily, are you alright?" Severus pulled me back to reality.

"Yes, I just got lost in my thoughts."

"What were you thinking about?" He questioned.

"Nothing important, just how obnoxious Potter and Black were today."

"Why are you thinking on it so much? I'm not."

"Because it's bullying and it's wrong."

"It doesn't bother me Lily, it shouldn't bother you either."

"I know that it shouldn't, but it's just the way that they act, like they're better than anyone else."

"Well there's hardly anything we can do about it. Come on, I want to finish this potions assignment." And Sev went back to reading his potions book and after a moment, I continued reading about charms. Or, I tried to anyway. My mind kept returning to Potter and Black. It was very annoying, but I did want to see Remus again. If I find him later I'll talk to him.

"Hey Remus!" It was just after lunch on Sunday when I saw him walking out with his other friends.

He turned around and once he saw it was me who was calling him he smiled, "Hey Lily!" He turned to his friends, "I'll meet up with you guys later." And then walked towards me. Potter looked like he wanted to follow Remus, but the other boy, I think his name was Peter, put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back.

"It's been awhile since we've hung out, I was thinking we could today." I said once Remus was next to me.

"Yeah, I'd love to, what did you have in mind?"

"I found this really great place for studying by the lake and I haven't shown anyone yet."

"So you're saying that I'll be the first one to know about your really great place?"

"Probably the only one too."

Remus gestured for me to walk forward, "Then show me the way." While we walked, we didn't talk about anything in particular, just whatever popped into our heads. There were moments of silence that allowed me to look at everything around me. It was May, and by this time, the leaves grew back on the trees, and the birds returned to sing all around us. It was very peaceful.

"Here we are." I said when we got to the lone bench underneath an old tree. It wasn't too far from the lake and the bench looked to be brand new.

"Wow," Remus said, "It's gorgeous here. How did you find this?"

"I had received an angry letter from my sister and needed to take a walk. So, I wandered around for a long time and eventually found this place." I explained, then walked over to sit down on the bench. Remus followed me after.

"So how's your charms essay?" Remus asked.

I gave an eager response, "Really good, I'm almost done actually. How's yours?"

He shrugged, "It's alright, nothing amazing."

"I could help you if you want. I have an aptitude for charms." I offered.

"Yeah, thanks. Sirius is pretty good at charms as well, but he never wants to study."

I laugh a little, "I'm not surprised." And Remus laughs with me. "So I have a question for you," I said changing topics, "Have you ever read a muggle book?"

"Not as many as I would like to. My mother's a muggle, so I grew up on a lot of muggle stories, but I guess I just haven't gotten round to reading the novels."

"Well if that's the case, then I have a lot of books to give you. That's only if you're interested in reading them."

"No, I'd love to read them." I just smiled in response. This was honestly the most relaxed I'd felt in a while.

I don't know why, but I decided to tell him something that had been on my mind, "There's something different about you Remus… I can't quite put my finger on it."

Remus sighed, "I have a feeling I know what you're talking about, but I'm sorry I can't tell you. Maybe someday in the future but for right now, this will stay a secret."

"Remus, you know I won't judge you for anything, right?"

"I know Lily, and I thank you so much for that, but I'm just not ready."

I nodded, "Okay." Now I knew there was something going on, and it wasn't small either.

Remus' POV

Despite the random and personal statement from Lily, I had a really great time. I got back to the common room about an hour before dinner. As soon as I stepped through the door I hear, "Remus!" James is running towards me as the other two follow him, "What were you doing for so long?"

Sirius appeared from behind him, "Don't worry about him Remy, he's just jealous."

"I am not jealous!" James said faced towards Sirius.

"Then why do you care so much?" Peter questioned.

"Because," James couldn't think of a response easily, "Because I just do, okay?"

Sirius stifled a laugh, "Alright James, whatever lets you sleep at night." James couldn't even come up with a response in words, he just huffed out air.

I laughed a little bit, "Don't worry James, we're just friends. I'm not trying to steal her from you." James looked even more angry than before.

"Look," James said angrily, "I just want to know why she's friends with you and why she won't be friends with me!"

"Well for one, you could stop being mean to her friend." I stated.

James laughed, "Snivelly? Not a chance. He has it coming."

"Then you have to face the fact that Lily will probably always hate you." I said.

"You'll have to deal with the fact that she won't ever like you." Sirius added in with a wink.

"I do not like her like that!" James retaliated.

Peter reached up and patted him on the shoulder, "Keep telling yourself that."

"Come on Remus, we had some ideas for the last day of school." Sirius said with a wink and I knew exactly what he was referring to. All of us excitedly ran up the stairs to the dormitory.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Sirius' POV

"Guys, I'm so bored." I complained as I laid sprawled across my bed in the dormitory, my head hanging off the end.

"Well, I'm helping Peter with Defense right now." Remus said from the bed opposite of me.

"James what are you doing?" He didn't look up from his writing, "Earth to James," I called out.

He finally looked up, "Huh?"

"What are you writing that you're so engrossed in?"

"Oh, the transfiguration essay." James said and then immediately went back to writing.

The three of us shared a confused look, "But, that's not due for another two weeks." Peter said.

"Yeah, but I really like transfiguration, and this was pretty interesting, so I'm doing it now." The three of us just stared at him, "Don't look so surprised."

"James, you hate doing homework." Remus stated.

"Yeah mate, you can't blame us for being just a little bit surprised." I pointed out.

James rolled his eyes at us, "I'm gonna go back to writing." And turned back to his paper.

"Ugh fine, you're all boring, I'm leaving." Nobody said anything as I walked out of the Gryffindor Tower. I wasn't walking anywhere in particular, I was just hoping I would stumble upon something interesting.

I was walking for a long time, and realized I accidentally ended up in the dungeon. Near the Slytherin common room. As soon as I realized where I was I turned around to go somewhere else, but I was too late. "Is that the Gryffindor Black?" I hear behind me. I ignore it and keep walking but a hand was placed on my shoulder, and I was pulled back. I turn around and see my wretched cousin, that Malfoy kid I kept hearing about, and two other kids who I was pretty sure were Nott and Avery.

"What are you doing here?" Bellatrix asked. I didn't reply, "Oh, I see, too scared to reply?" She laughed with the others while I stared straight into her eyes. I could see her getting aggravated and I knew I went too far. She pulled out her wand, and the others followed her.

The most logical thing to do was to run away, and I considered it. But I wouldn't give them that satisfaction. I would not be a coward.

I took out my wand. "You are making a mistake, blood traitor. Stupefy!" It was a stunning spell; I knew that much, but I had never seen it used. Next thing I knew, I was on the floor with the wind knocked out of me. I tried to stand up but then felt something hard hit my face and I was forced on the ground. I felt something hot trickle down the side of my mouth, and I knew my nose bleeding.

"Petrificus totalus!" I heard Malfoy yell and I couldn't move. I felt a hard kick to my hand and heard my wand hit the floor as it went down the corridor. Then I was being hit, hard, around my abdomen. It was painful, but I couldn't react, couldn't scream, I couldn't call for help. I felt one more strong hit to my face until Bellatrix began speaking, "Alright boys, that's enough. It's not amusing anymore." Which of course was followed by laughter. She leaned over me and grabbed my now bloody face, "This is what blood traitors deserve." She let go and I was alone. Alone in the middle of the corridor, wandless, and powerless.

James' POV

Sirius had been gone for a long time. It was almost curfew and I was starting to get worried. "Guys, I'm starting to get worried about Sirius."

"He has been out for a long time," Remus admitted.

"So, should we look for him?" Peter suggested. We didn't need to voice our answer, we just locked eyes. I started forming a plan out loud, "Okay, so we'll be faster if we split up. Peter, look on the sixth and seventh floors, as well as the astronomy tower. Remus, you take the third, fourth and fifth floors, I'll take the second, first, and the dungeon, got it?" They nodded, "Okay, if you don't find him, come back here in an hour, and we'll go from there. If one of us doesn't show up, that means they've found him, got it?" We all nodded, and set off.

I doubted Sirius would be on the second or first floor, but I still had to try. I had to be extremely careful though. Mcgonagall's office was on the first floor. I wasn't going to spend much time on either floor, because the second floor just led to the library.

I don't why, but I had a feeling about the dungeon that I just couldn't shake. There was no reason for Sirius to go near the Slytherin common room, but I couldn't shake this feeling.

I briefly looked around the small seating area, but completely went past the staircase leading to the Herbology corridor, and the other one leading to the library.

I finally made it to the dungeon, and my feeling was right. As soon as I turned down the corridor, I saw Sirius in the distance, lying on the floor, not moving. I sprinted over and kneeled down next to him, "Sirius? Come on, please wake up. What happened?" I cried desperately. The strange thing was that his eyes were open. I realized he had been stunned, but I didn't know the spell that would undo this. I needed to get someone.

"Hold on Sirius, I'm getting help. I promise I'll be back, and with help." And with that, I ran to Mcgonagall's office. Before I was even at the door I started yelling, "Professor!" I banged on the door, "Professor!"

She opened the door and did not look happy. She wasn't in her robes, but what looked liked something more casual, "Potter, it is past curfew you shouldn't-"

"I need help, it's Sirius." I started briskly walking and she followed me, "He's been stunned, but I don't know how to undo it." I started running, not as fast as earlier, but very quickly. I didn't turn around, but I could hear Mcgonagall's footsteps behind me.

We came to the corridor where I found him, and like before, I sprinted towards him. Mcgonagall's pace increased as well. I leaned down beside him, "No, get up Potter." I did as I was told, "Inite" She said. And the spell was undone.

"Sirius!" I helped him sit up, "What the hell happened?"

He coughed then said, "Nothing for you to worry about mate."

"Mr. Black, is it correct for me to assume that you were attacked?" Sirius just nodded in response to Mcgonagall, "I need you to tell me who did this."

"I'm sorry Professor, I can't do that."

"I will not tolerate this kind of behavior Mr. Black, and I assure you that whoever did this will be punished."

"I don't need them to be punished, it won't do anyone any good."

"So it was more than one person?" I asked. Sirius just nodded.

Mcgonagall spoke up, "Well this is a conversation we can have later, but right now let's get you to the hospital wing." I put my arm around Sirius as he stood up, and he leaned on me heavily for support.

As soon as we got to the hospital wing, I put Sirius down on the closest bed, and Madam Pomfrey began working on him immediately. Grabbing potions as well as casting enchantments. Mcgonagall turned to me, "Potter, go get Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew, I'm sure they will want to see him." I nodded and left willingly. I was almost positive she sent me away because the two women needed to discuss something.

I ran back to the Gryffindor common room, it had been well over an hour and they were there waiting for me.

"What happened? Where's Sirius?" Remus demanded, you could see the worry in his eyes.

"He's in the hospital wing," They both gasped before I could finish, "He's in bad shape, but he'll be fine."

"What happened?" Peter asked.

I sighed because I knew how they would react, but I told them anyway, "He was attacked in the dungeon, I think it was the Slytherins but he won't say who."

"His family?" Remus asked.

"Who else would do this to him?" I said.

"Well come on, let's go," Remus said as he started walking, "I want to see him." Peter and I quickly followed him to the hospital wing.

When we got there, we were all out of breath, but we were stopped at the door by Madam Pomfrey, "You must be very careful with him, he's very sore, and I just healed a broken rib which I would not like to heal again. Understood?" We all nodded, and she let us in.

"Sirius! What happened?" Remus said as he ran to his side.

"Nothing for you to worry about Remy, I'm fine."

"You're clearly not," We all looked over at Peter who is usually very quiet, "Madam Pomfrey said you had a broken rib, you're bruised all over and are clearly in pain every time you move, you're not okay."

Sirius sighed, "Alright- are they listening?" I looked over and Mcgonagall had left, leaving Madam Pomfrey working on the other side of the room

"No, only we will hear you."

"Ok, it was four Slytherins, but I feel like attacked is too strong a word." Sirius began.

"Who was it?" I asked angrily.

"There's no point in me telling you. What's done is done, and it'll be worse for me if I tell you."

I sat down on the bed, "Please, just so we know who to avoid."

This was the last thing that Sirius had wanted to tell us, and now I felt bad for pressing the matter. Yet, he still told us, "It was my cousin, Bellatrix, and Malfoy," he paused, "and Avery and Nott. Look, I don't need you guys to go and start anything, I've had this coming."

"Sirius," He looked up at Remus, "There is nothing that makes this okay, and I know I'll make sure that this never happens again."

"Me neither." Peter said confidently.

Me and Sirius looked at each other, "I'll always be with you."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Sirius' POV

I got out of the hospital wing two days later, because Madam Pomfrey wanted to be absolutely sure I was okay before letting me go. It was the worst two days of my life, the only consolation being the frequent visits from the Marauders. They always brought games to play, and we planned new ideas for pranks. I even got a letter from Mrs. Potter that had sweets. The first thing I did was send a reply saying thanks.

I was walking out of the common room with the letter, when James ran up behind me, "Hey!"

"James, you don't have to follow me around everywhere you know."

He just laughed, "What do you mean? You need someone strong like me to protect you from evil cousins."

"Strong like you?" I playfully shoved him and he stumbled into the wall, "Yeah, definitely want you as my bodyguard." He playfully shoved me back and we went on our way.

"Come on guys, we're not just gonna sit here all night are we?" James asked.

"What do you suppose we do then?" Peter stated more than asked.

"Well," Remus began, "We could play a game maybe. Go down to the common room and get more people involved too."

"What game would we play?" I was curious now.

"It's a muggle game called truth or dare. You'll choose someone out of the group and ask them if they want truth or dare. If they choose truth, you ask them a question, if they chose dare, you give them something embarrassing to do, or something they don't want to do."

"Oh, I've played this with my cousins before! They always made me do awful things." Peter said regretfully.

"This is definitely a game for the Marauders!" James declared as he got up from his bed, "Well come on!" He said when he turned back to us, and then walked down the stairs to the common room.

The rest of us followed him down, to see James standing in front of a group of first years. The rest of us started going around and asking the other first years in the room. The only people left in the common room were the ones who wanted to play; the people playing were the four of us, Lily, Alice, Marlene, Mary, and Frank. "Remus!" I said once we were all seated, "How about you go first?"

"Umm, alright- Frank, truth or dare?" Of course Remus would pick Frank first, he always made an effort to include him, which I always thought was really nice.

"Truth." Frank said almost immediately.

"Okay, who's the most annoying person in the dormitory?"

Frank sighed, obviously wanting a question that wouldn't make him be mean, "I'm sorry, but Sirius, you're very loud."

"Okay, you can't just say me, James is loud too!" I defended myself.

"Well apparently I'm not." James said while slightly laughing at me.

Frank shook his head, "No, you're loud too James, Sirius is just loud at the wrong times." Everyone burst out laughing; Frank was so quiet and nice, no one expected him to say this about anyone. Frank looked slightly flushed and tilted his head down, "I'm sorry."

I laughed a bit before responding, "Don't worry about it mate, no harm done."

"Okay… um Alice, truth or dare?" Frank asked his friend.

"Dare." Alice said boldly.

"I dare you…" he paused to think, "To pick a guy and let him do your makeup."

"But I don't have any makeup." Alice complained.

Then, Lily spoke up, "Oh I do, my sister gave it to me, saying I would probably need it, but I haven't touched it at all." She walked up the stairs, and came back down with a small bag, "So who do I give this to?"

"Ummm, Remus, you look like you'll be careful." Alice decided. So Lily gave the bag to Remus, and we all watched as he struggled to decipher one item from the next. By the end of it, Alice had purple cheeks, pink eyes, and black lines everywhere that was near her eyes.

"I'm sorry Alice." She just shrugged, as if she didn't mind at all.

"Okay… Sirius, truth or dare?" Alice asked.

I didn't take any time to think, "Dare of course!"

"I dare you to wear your shoe on your head for the rest of the game."

I laughed, "That's all?" This was easy, and not really embarrassing because everyone here knows why I'm doing it. It kept falling off so I tied the laces under my chin, and everyone burst out laughing. I struck a pose, "Am I pretty yet?" Everyone kept laughing, "Just kidding, I've always been gorgeous."

"Alright you keep telling yourself that." James said in between laughter.

"James truth or dare?" I asked, knowing he would say dare anyway.

"What do you think?" He asked rhetorically with a smirk on his face. I leaned over so I could whisper it to him.

"I dare you to snog Evans." I whispered.

James shrugged, "Okay!" He said happily, and moved to sit next to her. James leaned in, and she slapped him.

"In your dreams Potter."

Holding his cheek, James moved to sit back down next to me, "Thanks mate."

"Aww come on, I tried, you can't blame this on me." I said between laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Mary," James said now ignoring me, "Truth or dare?"

"From what I've seen, definitely truth." She responded immediately.

James had to think for a minute before asking her, "Sticking with this theme, if you could kiss anyone in this room, who would it be?"

"Alright, I'll just be honest; I'd want to kiss Alice, cause she is absolutely gorgeous." Mary said, turning towards her at the end. They both blushed, and everyone was slightly shocked. I've always been taught that homosexuality was a bad thing but Mary is the sweetest person I've ever met, there's no way anything about her is bad. I guess this is just another thing my family's wrong about. I mean, she probably just thinks that Alice is pretty that's all.

But she did look a little uncomfortable after she said that, so I tried to make her feel less awkward, "Nice, I mean, I'm a little surprised you didn't pick me, cause come on, who doesn't want to kiss me, but Alice is a good second choice." I was hesitant, but Alice knew I was joking.

"Uh excuse me Black, but I believe Mary said me, making me her first choice, and not you. Besides, I'm not the one with a shoe on my head."

This is when everyone started laughing, and I pretended to look offended, and then we laughed it off.

"Oh, and what about that makeup Alice?" I said and we continued to laugh. The tension in the room was eased, and we moved on with the game.

"Peter, truth or dare?" Mary asked the boy who hadn't participated much.

"Uh, dare." He said wanting to prove he wasn't scared.

"Okay, go stand in front of the portrait hole, and don't let the next person who comes through pass you."

"Ugh, I don't like this one," Peter complained.

"Well, that's not our problem." Marlene said, she was always very upfront.

So while Peter waited in front of the door, we continued with the game, "Okay, I'm just gonna ask from here then I guess; Remus, truth or dare?"

"I'm gonna go with truth."

"Not being very Marauderish I see?" I say leaning into the circle to get closer to Remus. He just rolled his eyes at me.

Peter thought of his question, "Okay, I know I'm not that creative, but what was your most embarrassing moment?"

"Probably when James and Sirius charmed my robes to be pink." Remus said while shooting an unpleasant look at us, before we started laughing at the memory. "Well moving on,"

Just then, a second year walked through the portrait hole, and Peter stood right in front of them, while we tried our best not to laugh, but it was sneaking out anyway. He looked confused, then stepped to the side, only to have Peter follow him again. Now he looked slightly scared, so he ran past him, and all of us burst out laughing.

Peter sulked over to rejoin the circle, "That was not funny, I feel bad now."

"It's alright Peter," Alice comforted him, "He won't even think about this in a couple of minutes."

"Well anyway, Lily, truth or dare?" Remus asked his friend.

"I think I'll go with dare." Lily said with confidence. Everyone knew Lily was confident, but no one had ever seen her like this; not uptight or following the rules. She was having fun and being herself.

"Uh, I don't have any good dares." Remus admitted.

"It's alright Remmy, me and Jamesy will think of something for her." I said while putting an arm around James' shoulders.

"Why do you feel the need to give everyone a nickname?" James asked. I just shrugged in response. "Okay, I dare you to wear a piece of clothing on a part of your body that it is not normally worn on."

"Well that kind of made sense." Lily said. So she took her tie, and tied it around her head, "Like this?"

"Yeah, but that actually makes you look really cute." James said as if he was in a trance.

Lily just rolled her eyes, "Marlene?"

"Dare." Marlene answered while looking Lily straight in the eye.

"Tomorrow morning at breakfast, I dare you to scream something, that I'll tell you later."

I laughed, "Now it's getting interesting!"

We continued playing for a couple rounds, until everyone, except me and the rest of the Marauders, was gone.

The next morning started out completely normal, until our theory about Remus continued to grow.

At breakfast, we were all really excited to see Marlene's dare followed through. About ten minutes in, Marlen stood up on the bench, everyone turning their attention to her. She then screamed, "I'm in love with Sirius Black!" The four of us burst out laughing, knowing that wasn't true.

However, the rest of the hall was silent until someone shouted, "Me too!" And that made us all laugh even harder.

After lessons were over, Remus disappeared. "Well, we should mark this date in our journal." Peter said.

James nodded and put 'May 28' in the journal, "This is exactly a month after the last time he disappeared."

"Coincidence?" I suggested.

James shook his head, "I don't think so mate."

AN: I'm sorry this was so late! But good news, there's only one more chapter and that is it for the Marauders first year! *Insert fireworks*

I know this may not have been the best, but I've learned some writing tips, and I promise second year is going to be better, so please read that one once it's up, thank you!


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

James' POV

"Well, here it is! The last day of our first year, are you all ready?" I asked when I jumped out of bed.

"Absolutely." Sirius said while grinning wildly. We all got dressed in a hurry, while simultaneously packing. We wanted to be the first ones in the Great Hall, even though we had to wait for everyone to be in the Great Hall for our prank.

We walked in, and the Hall was still decorated with the Hufflepuff banners from the feast last night. They had won the House Cup, just barely beating us.

Besides that, nothing was different, it was just like every other day. Most people seemed happy to be able to go home, but not Sirius. Whenever he thought someone wasn't looking, he looked sad. I knew it was bad at home from what happened over Christmas, so I made a mental note to write often.

"Alright, do we all know what we're doing?" I asked my three friends in a hushed whisper. They all nodded in response. Sirius was grinning wildly, Peter looked overly excited, and Remus was just happy that he made it. "Then let's go, Remus?"

Remus nodded, whispered a spell, and all the lights went out. They were sounds of shock, whispers of surprise, screams of fear, but they only lasted for a little bit. The lights turned back on a few seconds later, and everyone saw why. I was standing on the edge of the Gryffindor table, facing the teachers, while Remus was on Ravenclaw's, Sirius on Hufflepuff's, and Peter on Slytherin's.

"Hello everyone!" Peter yelled.

"We are the Marauders." Sirius continued.

Then I joined in, "And we're the ones who like to cause mischief around here."

"But that's not what we're here to do today." Remus assured them.

"Today, we would like to send all of you home on a happy note." Peter started again, and we continued in the same order.

"Firstly, we would like to thank all of the wonderful teachers whom we have learned so much from." There was a small applause.

"We would also like to say farewell to the seventh years, you will all be missed." There was a bigger applause.

"And finally, everyone here has made this year amazing for someone, and hopefully yourselves too, so be proud of that!" This statement got the biggest applause.

While everyone was still clapping I yelled to my friends, "Ready?"

"Hell yeah!" Sirius screamed.

Remus began counting, "One… two… three!"

"Facere nix!" We all said, and at once the Great Hall was filling with snow. Every reaction was something pleasant. Even though it was slightly cold in comparison to the hot summer day, nobody cared. Everyone was having fun, and that was exactly what we wanted.

We all came down from the tables and met in the center. While we were celebrating with ourselves, Dumbledore and Mcgonagall began approaching us. But they didn't look like they were going to punish us, they almost looked pleased with us.

"As soon as you boys stood up on those tables, I was expecting trouble, but I was," Mcgonagall paused to find the right words, "Pleasantly surprised."

"Yes, we know you four have been behind most of the mischief going on this year. Thank you for planning such a nice surprise for everyone." He leaned in closer to us, "I expect nothing less next year." And winked.

"Have a nice holiday boys." Mcgonagall said while walking back to the staff table.

We went back to the Gryffindor table very happy with ourselves, and enjoyed the rest of the feast.

When it was time to get on the train, we raced to get there first so we could find the car that we sat in on the way to Hogwarts. It was exactly the same as before, except for the slight sadness in the air. Friends were leaving each other, but a festive atmosphere still pervaded throughout the Hogwarts Express.

"So any summer plans lads?" I asked, trying to figure out when I could write to all of them.

"Not at the moment." Sirius said.

Remus just shook his head.

"Yeah actually, my family likes to travel a lot, so we're going to go all around Europe, I'll be writing to you guys lots and sending postcards."

"What are postcards?" Me and Sirius asked in sync.

"They're muggle pictures of places that you send to friends to show them where you are." Peter explained.

"Cool! Send them everywhere that you go!" Sirius said.

"Well, if us three aren't doing anything, then we should meet up at some point." I offered.

"That sounds great James." Remus said.

"Yeah, maybe this summer won't be so bad after all." Sirius said, and we all agreed.

* * *

This is it! The end of the Marauder's first year! Thank you so much to those of you who have been following this story and second year will be up soon!


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